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Monday, February 1, 2016

As California's Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) fight to raise rates for home solar investors, the CPUC rebukes their bid to move directly to "Time Of Use" pricing and claims that the Utilities have not made a documented case for why rates should be raised.

The California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday voted 3-2 to
preserve retail rate net metering for rooftop solar systems, adopting
a Proposed Decision released last month with a few notable revisions.

The decision is a victory for rooftop solar installers in the
state, which lobbied the commission to preserve retail rate remuneration
for solar facilities that send excess power back to the grid. The
state's utilities filed an alternative proposal last week that sought to
reduce net metering rates.

The dissenting commissioners expressed frustration with revisions
to the Proposed Decision, released only last night, that removed
increases to non-bypassable charges for solar owners. Commissioner Carla
Peterman, who voted for the measure, said the commission would have to
revisit the issue and lower remuneration rates by 2019.

A modification makes time-of-use (TOU) rates mandatory for new
rooftop solar users in the Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern
California Edison territories, instead of phasing them in until 2019,
when all residents are required to go on TOU rates. Solar owners in
SDG&E's service territory will be allowed to remain on the
utilities' tiered rate structure for five years after new TOU rates are
approved in 2017.